Bible Study Club
The first irony associated with the existence of a Bible Study Club on the campus of Sterling High School is that this story takes place in a period firmly ensconced in the age of the mass school shooting. Or, put another way, very firmly ensconced in the era in which the separation of church and state has been grudgingly accepted by a handful of Christians as the law of the land. So it is ironic that such a club even exists on the grounds of a public high school. The next level of irony explicitly speaks for itself: “In a fit of high school irony, the principal of Sterling High had placed the Bible Study Club next door to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance.” The final ironic nail in the coffin—no pun intended—is that members of both clubs are targeted for attack by the shooter, perhaps suggesting about both God’s wrath toward some and His loving protection of others.
Woefully Bad Fatherly Advice
Peter’s father is found by his son in the basement lovingly giving his Remington 721 thirty-ought-six rifle a thorough cleaning. Father invites son to assist him and along the way hands out what he sincerely believes is useful advice. While a gun is a very dangerous thing, it is merely a tool like screwdriver: “it doesn’t do anything unless you know how to pick it up and use it correctly.” His sincere beliefs results in the irony of his son later using a gun—correctly and exactly as it is intended to be used—in order to mow down defenseless victims.
Ironic Twist
The plot comprised of events inexorably moving toward the climax of a school shooting is almost painfully predictable, but that predictability is intentional and purposeful. The timeline sets a framework which any American paying attention in the 21st century knows by heart in order to pull the rug out at the end with the one and only aspect of the event which does not conform to the predictability of real-life school shootings. That twist won’t be spoiled by revealing the facts of it here, but suffice to say that among its various other levels of irony, the centerpiece is that it is the only element of the slaughtering of high school students by an individual with a gun that carries any shock value at all. The real ironic twist here is that kids born in the 21st century American may find it incredulous that there really was a time when every single minute of a school shooting was considered shocking.
The Painful Truth
The painful truth about policing is addressed through the self-awareness a law enforcement officer of the irony of the name of his profession. He is a detective with the Sterling police department who has come to realize the ironic paradox of that job:
“He was a detective, but he didn’t detect anything. It fell into his lap, already broken, every time.”
Peter’s Mom
As with his dad, being the parent of a school shooter produces ironic circumstances for Peter’s mother. Although loving and devoted to her son even after the shooting takes place, she is also genuinely moved to try to find ways to somehow offer penitence to the parents of the victims as a means of pursuing redemption and salvation for herself in the wake of the overwhelming guilt and shame she feels for whatever she might have done or not done that facilitated the transformation of her child into a monster. The irony is that her authentic desire to make amends and provide whatever possible comfort she has to give to these people is obstructed by the suspicions raised by the very act of her trying to make such overtures.
